Chartering

In order to promote and increase transparency, speed, and clarity within the chartering process, the Student Government Association has adopted new chartering bylaws that make starting a club, organization, or student group easier than ever. We believe that nothing should stand in the way of a passionate group of individuals who want to form an organization at Emory. Student groups are at the heart of the Emory experience, and we’ve decreased the barriers and eliminated roadblocks to encourage new groups to form and flourish.

Read the Bylaws

What do I need to do to get a charter?

Undergraduate Divisional Council Requirements

Graduate Divisional Council Requirements

University-Wide Requirements

Chartering Outcomes

The Chartering Process: Initial Request through Divisional Council Decision

The Chartering Process: Approval through Receipt of Charter

The Chartering Process: If the Divisional Council is Unresponsive

The Chartering Process: Appeal

What do I need to do to get a charter?

In order to get a charter, Requestors must satisfy two sets of requirements: the Student Government requirements, and the requirements of the Divisional Council or University-Wide Organization under which he/she/they would like to be chartered.

The Nitty-Gritty

According to Section 3. SGA Requirements of Student Group Charters, found in the Chartering Bylaws of the Student Government Association of Emory University, as Amended by Bill 46sl16 in October 2013, the following constitute the SGA requirements:

A. Each Student Group Charter, Self-Generated or Allocated, shall at least meet the following conditions:

1. Maintain a constitution, which shall conform to the Student Constitution of Emory University (the SGA Constitution), bylaws of the SGA, and Emory University policies. The organization’s constitution shall include:

i. An explicit statement of the purpose of the organization; and,

ii. A written copy of the Emory University Anti-Discrimination Clause, unless an exception to the Emory University Anti-Discrimination Clause shall be granted by the SGA Attorney General.

2. Maintain a list of the names and academic divisions of at least ten (10) Emory University students currently part of the organization’s membership, which shall be the minimum membership that any organization must maintain to receive or to retain a Student Group Charter. Each name listed must include a valid Emory Identification Number; the SGA Attorney General may only waive this requirement in the event that it is necessary for the functioning of a particular student group that its members remain anonymous. Nonetheless, if the SGA Attorney General does waive this requirement, the club must still provide a list of ten (10) members’ Emory University Identification Numbers.

3. Maintain a president, a treasurer and at least one (1) other relevant officer, whose names and e-mail addresses shall be updated continuously in an online student organization database designated by the SGA Attorney General.

4. Maintain a faculty advisor, as agreed upon a form provided by the SGA Attorney General, whose name, e-mail address, and department shall be updated continuously in an online student organization database designated by the SGA Attorney General.

5. All Student Group Charters shall also meet additional requirements set by the respective Divisional Council or University-Wide Organization from where the Student Group Charter is petitioned from, as mentioned in Article 4, Section 4 of this Title below.

B. All religious organizations shall receive approval from the Office of Religious Life of Emory University.

C. All honor societies, shall receive approval from the relevant department or college.

Undergraduate Divisional Council Requirements

BBA Council

Obtain a Charter from the BBA Council by appealing to the VP of Clubs within the first 45 days of the semester to arrange a presentation of the club concept for the BBA Council. While the appeal must be made within the first 45 days of the semester, the presentation may happen at any time at the discretion of the BBA Council. The presentation should include the following:

○ A demonstrated need for the club in the business school and ability to sustain the club for at least two academic years

○ A proposed or confirmed faculty/staff advisor

○ Preliminary plans for club events and/or meetings

○ Preliminary plans for sustainable membership and growth

A Charter is subject to the approval of the BBA Council by a simple majority vote of the members present.

Conditions of a Charter:

○ The club must have a constitution including a mission statement that outlines the club purpose and goals, as well as a non-discriminatory clause.

○ The club must have a permanent faculty/staff advisor.

○ The club must have an executive board solely consisting of currently registered BBA students. The executive board must have at least the following positions:

i. President

ii. Treasurer

○ The club must host at least two events while acting on the basis of awaiting a charter.

○ All clubs applying for a Charter must also comply with the entirety of the BBA Club Code, along with all requirements outlined by similar documents ratified by the Emory Student Government Association (SGA). This includes, but is not limited to registering on Community (osls.emory.edu).

○ Every organization wishing to gain a charter with the BBA Council must have a clear vision and satisfy a need or want of the BBA student body that is not already met by another chartered organization on campus (BBA or otherwise). Satisfying this requirement is at the complete discretion of the BBA Council.

Note: BBA Council members who are considered to be potential club members do not have a right to vote on the club charter.

College Council

1. Organizations must attend a College Council Administration hearing in order to present the necessary materials required of the desired charter. The committee will then decide on the appropriate charter.

2. The organizations must uphold the integrity of the University and the College Council.

Oxford

Requirements from this division are under review by the Emory University Student Government Association Attorney General and will be posted online at the end of the review process.

Undergraduate Nursing

The requirements of the Emory Student Nurses Association are satisfied by the requirements of the Student Government Chartering process.

Candler Coordinating Council

A. Any student organization desiring to be chartered and thereby have a representative on the Council shall submit an online application to the Attorney General of the SGA; after that application’s approval the following shall be submitted to the Council:

1. Names of Candler students, greater than or equal to the minimum number of students required by Emory SGA chartering regulations, who express interest in the student organization, including a list of student leaders and advisor of the organization,

2. A petition for a charter for the student organization that, in inclusive language, includes the purpose and goals of the organization, and

3. A constitution detailing, in inclusive language, the organizational and leadership structure of the student organization.

B. Upon review of the materials submitted by the student organization, the Council may, by simple majority vote, grant a charter to the organization.

Graduate Business

GBA Divisional Requirements will be used by GBA to review all club requests, and all approval and denial decisions must be made based on the requirements listed below. Student requestors have the right to an appeal during which the SGA Governance Committee will base their ruling to sustain or overturn the GBA decision on the documented Divisional Requirements, which are kept on file by the SGA Attorney General.

1) All clubs must have a unique mission compared to all other chartered Goizueta clubs.

a.New clubs cannot be a subset of existing clubs, as example: The Goizueta Barbeque Society would be a subset of the Goizueta Food Club (also known as the Goizueta Supper Club)

b.New clubs may not be a duplicative effort of an existing club, as example: The Goizueta Association of Technologists would be considered a duplicative effort of the Goizueta Technology Association.

2) All clubs’ missions must be aligned with Goizueta’s Core Values.

3) All clubs must be a positive reflection of the Goizueta Community from the perspective of any outsiders engaging with our community, including but not limited to Emory University, alumni, prospective students and faculty, community service partners, religious groups and media.

4) All new clubs must be able to show examples of prior active engagement to prove broad community interest

a. Broad community interest is to be defined as attendance to two previous events by at least 10 people at each event.

b. Ex: The Goizueta Golf Club wants a club charter. Using their own resources, the club’s prospective leadership has held two sessions at a local driving range to teach beginner golfers how to play and to bring together experienced players. 15 people showed up to the first event (including the leadership) and 20 people showed up to each event, including some repeat attendees. This club has met the standard for prior active engagement and broad community interest.

c. Ex: The Goizueta Automotive Industry Club wants a club charter. They held one informal meeting during KEGS and passed around the petition to reach the 10 people minimum for a charter. They have not held any formal events prior to their request although they are planning to go to a car show once they receive funding from GBA. This club has not met the standard for prior active engagement and broad community interest.

5) Any new club must be placed within one of the following designations, as defined in the GBA Constitution Bylaws Section 6:

a. Academic Professional

b. Cultural

c. General Interest

GSC

1. The mission and goals of the organization must be distinct from any other student group already chartered by SGA and must primarily benefit/support students enrolled in the Laney Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

2. The budget requested from GSC by the student organization seeking a charter must primarily benefit/support students enrolled in the Laney Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

3. The charter request must be approved by majority vote at the monthly GSC general body meeting as outlined in the GSC constitution prior to submitting the charter application materials to the SGA Attorney General.

4. In order to present a charter request at the GSC general body meeting

a. All required documents must be appropriately completed and submitted to the President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the GSC at least one week prior to the general body meeting at which the charter request will be presented.*

b. The president and treasurer of the organization seeking a charter must meet with the President and Treasurer of the GSC at least one week prior to the general body meeting at which the charter request will be presented.*

*Any groups failing to meet these requirements may have their charter request denied or tabled until the following GSC general body meeting at the discretion of the GSC Executive Board.

Graduate Nursing

The requirements of the Graduate Nursing Council are satisfied by the requirements of the Student Government Chartering process.

Medical School Senate

1. Group must represent a unique mission within the MSS Division
2. Group must reflect positively on Emory and the School of Medicine
3. Group must send a representative to a monthly MSS meeting to propose tentative budget before submitting for SGA charters

Rollins

i. Rollins student groups should directly benefit the Rollins community

ii. The student organization should submit a complete budget request upon applying for charter

iii. The student organization should submit a complete strategic plan upon applying for charter

1. The strategic plan will include complete timeline of events and outreach, including at least two general body meetings per semester, one collaborated event with another student organization, and a mid-year progress report submitted to the current Vice President of RSGA

iv. The student organization should be all inclusive to the Rollins student body

v. The student organization should not replicate the mission of another student organization

University-Wide Requirements

Club Sports

Requirements from this division are under review by the Emory University Student Government Association Attorney General and will be posted online at the end of the review process.

Media Council

1. Distinction- The group wishing to be chartered must be sufficiently different from all other Media Council organizations. This requirement is in place to avoid duplicate clubs striving towards the same goals in an inefficient manner.

and

2. Professionalism- The group wishing to be chartered must manage themselves in a responsible manner. Before chartering a group, the Media Council will consider all prior media published by the group in print and online settings and will assess the content for the quality expected of Media Council organizations. Additionally, the charter-seeking group will be required to present an official Chartering Request to the entirety of the Media Council, and this presentation will be assessed based on competence, effort, and conduct.

NOTE: Satisfaction of the above two requirements will be determined by the voting members of the Media Council, that is, the Presidents of current Media Council organizations. In the event of a tie, the President of the Media Council will cast a vote as well.

Outdoor Emory Organization

1. Follows OEO’s guidelines for how trips are led/where people sleep/activities that are done.
2. Is effectively different than OEO (in the sense that that club needs to be created to fill a void that OEO is leaving).

Student Programming Council

The requirements of the Student Programming Council are satisfied by the requirements of the Student Government Chartering process.

Chartering Outcomes

There are three distinct outcomes to the chartering process. The outcome of your charter application depends on a number of factors.

Divisional Councils have the right to move a Self-Generated Account Charter to Allocated Account Charter (or vice-versa) at a later date by notifying the SGA Attorney General.

The Rights of Chartered Organizations

Partially explained by the table in the section above, chartered organizations enjoy a number of rights and benefits. Exactly which ones, however, depend on whether your organization is granted an Allocated or Self-Generated Charter.

The Chartering Process: Approval through Receipt of Charter

The following flow diagram outlines the chartering process from the approval of the charter request by the division to the receipt of a charter and SmartKey.

Division decides if the charter request is approved, and for which type of charter (Allocated or Self-Generated).

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The Requestor is emailed by the Division, with the SGA Attorney General CC’d, that the request has approved. The Requestor is provided with next steps in the process.

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The Requestor registers on OrgSync and brings $25 to the SGA Business Manager in Eagles’ Landing if they want a self-generated account.

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The Attorney General approves the registration on OrgSync. The organization is now chartered, but does not yet have a SmartKey. A notification email is sent to the Requestor.

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The Attorney General sends the Club Charter approval to the SGA Business Office to begin SmartKey process. (The process to begin a self-generated SmartKey account will not begin until the SGA Business Manager receives $25, as described earlier.)

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The SGA Business Manager processes the SmartKey request, which can take up to 2 weeks to complete.

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The Requestor is notified of SmartKey information.

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If approved for Allocated charter, the club can now ask their Divisional Treasurer for their initial allocated funds to be transferred.

The Chartering Process: If the Divisional Council is Unresponsive

The following flow diagram outlines the chartering process if the Division does not respond within 14 days.

If Division does not respond to chartering request in 14 days…

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The Requestor contacts the SGA Attorney General to expedite the process.

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The Attorney General contacts the Division and grants 3 more days for a decision to be made.

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If the Division makes a decision, the Requestor and club proceed with the normal chartering process.

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If 3 days pass without a decision from the Division, the Attorney General bypasses the Division and makes a decision based on the documented Student Government and Divisional Requirements.

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The requestor is emailed the decision by the Attorney General, with the Division CC’d.

The Chartering Process: Appeal

The following flow diagram outlines the appeals process if a Division denies the chartering request.

If the Division denies the charter request…

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The Requestor is emailed the denial decision by the Division with the SGA Attorney General CC’d.

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The Requestor can appeal the denial decision.

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The Requestor appeals to the Attorney General who sets up a meeting with the SGA Governance Committee. The Division is notified of the appeal.

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The Governance Committee holds a hearing with Requestor and Division. The Appeal Decision will be based on documented divisional requirements. A 2/3 vote of the committee is required to overturn the decision of the Division.

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The Requestor is informed of the decision of the Governance Committee.

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If the appeal is approved and the denial by the Division is overturned, the Requestor returns to the normal chartering process, and registers on OrgSync.

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If the appeal is denied by the Governance Committee, the Requestor may appeal to SGA. To appeal to SGA, the Requestor must submit a chartering bill SGA, which must pass by a majority vote of the legislature.

Note: Documents and requirements on this website are for reference only and may differ from documents on file with the Attorney General. Statements on this website are not legally binding. In all cases, documents on file with Attorney General or passed by the Legislature take precedence.